AKGramma's Perpetual Grow

[AKgramma]

I looked in on the ladies with my magnifying glass today and saw trics forming on the sugar leaves. The few seeds dispersed among the buds filling out quite nicely. Some of the hairs are just starting to turn brown. But the calyxes themselves have not started to plump up yet.

They are at 55 days in flower, so will estimate a couple more weeks, then harvest what looks ready, if any, and leave the rest to mature.

 

[FyreGypsy]

Hi AKgramma, I have been following your journal for a while now and am finally caught up. I can't say how many times the ideas I got from you (or the people posting in your journal) solved problems, saved me money or just made my life easier. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences, it has helped me out a lot in my own journey in growing.

peace and happy growing!

 

[AKgramma]

Hi AKgramma, I have been following your journal for a while now and am finally caught up. I can't say how many times the ideas I got from you (or the people posting in your journal) solved problems, saved me money or just made my life easier. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences, it has helped me out a lot in my own journey in growing.

peace and happy growing!

You made my day! I am so happy that my DIY, on-the-cheap grow has helped you! Those of us who don't receive any compensation for our harvests need to read about small grows done on a budget, in small spaces, and somewhat stealthy.

 

[AKgramma]

the AK47 x DP and Arjan's Haze are really buffing up their buds! These are the biggest I have had to date, other than the Autoberry I grew in a previous harvest. Hairs still white, tho, so I know I have plenty of time. I just hope the first one doesn't get any taller. I know she is well past her stretch, but I only have about 12" to the LED's, which are placed as high as I can get in the unit. (72")

Just flushing when they droop now. I never DID have to feed the AK 47xDP with the rejuvenated soil mix. But I DID feed the AK 48's last week, because their leaf edges were getting yellow. AK 48 seems to be a heavy feeder. No wonder, considering their stout, vigorous growth.

It's a joy to have a bug-free lush grow, even with only 6 plants. I struggled so much with the last one, I almost gave up the hobby. I chalk up the success to

1) Rejuvenated, well-amended soil mix (I chose one of the (LOS?) recipes from a 420 forum devoted to natural soil amendments)
2) Starting from seed and cloning the AK 48 early
3) Spraying at the very first sign of new mites (surprisingly few with the rejuvenated soil)

 

[AKgramma]

TS: You asked some time back about how strong the smell was from the AK 47 x Durbin Poison. The answer: Not as much as the name would suggest. The Durban Poison is an African Landrace with an occasional heavy piney, almost cat pissy scent, but not something that screams WEED to the neighbors.

I don't have any special ventilation, and the last 4 weeks the window has been closed. I'll get a whiff of terpenes when I'm in that part of the trailer, but it doesn't stink up the whole house.

Both the Arjan's haze and the AK 47xDP are past their harvest period, as listed on the breeder's sites. The sites say that AK 47 finishes at day 52 with 50% of the trics being amber, and DP finishes at 60 days with 100% milky trics. This is day 61.

One would expect an average of the two in the AK47xDP cross, but she doesn't look done to me. Since my old eyes can't see the difference between milky and clear trics through a loupe, I go by the percentage of hairs that turn amber. I see the hairs declining in thickness and rigidity, with tips starting to curl, not quite amber yet. The buds still need to fill out a bit.

So, my estimate is by the end of September, in about 9 days.

I've had some lower mini-buds dry up already, so they got added to the mixed trimmings for tea and cooking. The Arjan's haze mini-buds are still sticky after 3 days of drying. I hope they dry enough to grind into powder, or else I might have to press them together into nugs for smoking.

In case anyone is interested in using cannabis as an herb, it's more than just drying and grinding. I trim out the petioles and stems from the leaves and mini-buds as best as I can, and pick out dried stems as the batch dries and cures. Yes, I cure the leaves and mini-buds. There are enough trics on the leaves to give you a nice buzz about an hour after you eat.

My recipe is 1/4 cup "herbs" per 1 pound of ground meat, with anything else you want to add to the stew or baked dish. A well-seasoned sauce masks most of the cannabis taste. I imagine this would make great meatballs! You can freeze those and bring them out for a special spaghetti dish.

Lots of possibilities there!

 

[Arctic Bowl]

Evening to you AK
Looks like we will be chopping around the same time, could probably take them this weekend but have to get a few other chores done before the snow flys......you know the drill, spend all summer getting ready for winter lol, what's wrong with us lol.

Hope all is well for you and yours, we're plugging along some days are so so and others are not. Never would have thought that we would be going threw this but we are so we do the best we can. Love an hugs to you and yours!

Blessed Buds our friend and be well

 

[AKgramma]

AB: Thinking about you both as the weather down here gets colder, and I hear about the Idiot Bill on the ballot for FBX and the Borough. I guess people don't like all that nice green money coming into the economy.

Guess y'all will go back to growing stealthy.

 

[Arctic Bowl]

The person leading the pack of nit wits is a bit out of touch with things and rather than try to understand it's easier for him to try and make it illegal again.......that didn't work when it was illegal so not sure of his true intentions. Some say he's a bible thumping idiot, I'm not sure this is a fact but he lacks education of what will and has brought jobs and revenue to the area and the state. Goofy, don't see this standing a chance of passing but I'm sure he feels he's saving us all. I say make everything legal, if a person chooses to take a drug that hurts them....great, it was there choice not some political party making decisions for the people.

Lol as far as stealth grows go I'd bet the opposite happens and his front yard becomes a very big garden right before the AST show up to arrest his ass

 

[AKgramma]

The person leading the pack of nit wits is a bit out of touch with things and rather than try to understand it's easier for him to try and make it illegal again.......that didn't work when it was illegal so not sure of his true intentions. Some say he's a bible thumping idiot, I'm not sure this is a fact but he lacks education of what will and has brought jobs and revenue to the area and the state. Goofy, don't see this standing a chance of passing but I'm sure he feels he's saving us all. I say make everything legal, if a person chooses to take a drug that hurts them....great, it was there choice not some political party making decisions for the people.

Lol as far as stealth grows go I'd bet the opposite happens and his front yard becomes a very big garden right before the AST show up to arrest his ass

What do you want to bet he smokes cigarettes (AKA Rat Poison), gets drunk now and then, and takes pain killers?

 

[AKgramma]

I eked out time to harvest the Arjan's Haze. Anyone who like buds so sticky, you can't get them off your fingers, will love this strain. There is a subtle diesel-odor to it, but nothing that needs venting, unless you grow a lot of them.

As you can see by her before pic, she is bedraggled and leaf-bare from being revegged and trimmed unmercifully to force the growth to the top. She has been in this kitty litter bin since she was cloned late last year. This is her, today at 67 days since the switch. This is a bit early from the 77 days recommended by seed banks, but I already had to trim out her bottom buds because they were drying up. And, she IS a clone that was revegged.

I plan to put her right back under veg to see if she will come back once more, then clone all of her new branches, and severely trim or toss the main structure, as it is weak. If the trunk survives, I will repot her in a 3 gallon trash bin in an attempt to bring her back from oblivion.

The harvest came to 44g wet, which is surprising for an 18 inch, badly abused plant. I assume it will dry down to 11g.

I won't recycle the kitty litter jugs anymore. They just don't allow enough enough root space to grow a sturdy plant. The tall kitchen trash bins (3 gallons) seem to be the best solution for my limited floor space. My ladies regularly get between 36" and 48" at harvest, even when pinched out twice early on (for four main branches).

I tried the jugs as hempys last year, with disappointing results. The hempys were 1/3 smaller than those grown in soil, but I have to admit that I could not wrap my old head around the feeding schedule required. I have been and always will be a soil grower.

Anyway, am considering harvesting the AK 47-Durban Poison today or tomorrow, as she looks ready.

 

[AKgramma]

WHOOOHOOOO! I had forgotten how STINKY drying buds can be! It's too cold to open a window. Guess I'm going to have to hide them in my grow room AKA my bedroom!

 

[AKgramma]

I've decided to harvest the AK47 x Durban Poison today, as well. She is at day 68, 5 days past the breeder's date of her latest ancestor.

She was held up by the walls of the flower unit and cannot stand up on her own. As you can see, she is covered with full buds, plus a few seeds here and there (which I will save and grow out).

And a closeup of an 8" cola.

I think this is bigger than the Autoberry I grew last year. I'm going to have to weigh the buds in batches to get a wet weight.

We'll see how the trim-out goes. I may try to reveg her for clones.

 

[SweetSue]

I've decided to harvest the AK47 x Durban Poison today, as well. She is at day 68, 5 days past the breeder's date of her latest ancestor.

She was held up by the walls of the flower unit and cannot stand up on her own. As you can see, she is covered with full buds, plus a few seeds here and there (which I will save and grow out).

And a closeup of an 8" cola.

I think this is bigger than the Autoberry I grew last year. I'm going to have to weigh the buds in batches to get a wet weight.

We'll see how the trim-out goes. I may try to reveg her for clones.

She's gorgeous! Strong genetics, eh? How is it we started growing these trees? When I went to hempy it was with the intention to run a lot of small ones, and then they took off on me. How dense are the buds?

I'm glad it worked out for you, and good luck on the reveg, should you go that way. I've yet to attempt one.

If you wanted to share it on one of the many threads I maintain, she's a Jamaican, and I have a thread for that. The guys would love to whoop it up with you in celebration.
Jamaican Dreams

 

[AKgramma]

It took me 8 hours to trim the buds off and pick out the seeds. Wet weight for the one plant is 136g plus change. If I lose 75% in the drying, that will make 34g dry. This is a record for me from one plant!

I saved some thin branches with a bit of green at each node and will attempt to clone these. They are sitting in water now, but before I go to bed, I'll have to put them in my DIY cloner and bag the whole thing up. Maybe some of them will survive. I also put the bottom third of the lady back in veg and misted her well. Not much green on the stumps, but it's worth a try.

So far I retrieved close to 150 seeds, what I could find, anyway. Once the buds dry, more will show up. They are nice and brown with tiny spots on them. Once I am positive they are fully dry, I'll store them in the fridge with the rest of my seeds.

It will be another 45 days before the AK 48 clones I put under veg on the 12th will be close to harvest. Already their tips are forming up into rosettes, and I expect a stretch any time now.

Before I pop any more seeds, I'll see what survives the cloning. I don't want to get overcrowded again.

 

[Tony Urban]

Sounds like you are in the groove. Well done on the harvest.

 

[AKgramma]

I decided to pop the CBD Yummy seeds that Sue sent my way. They are photos, but the breeder lists them as fems, so I will have to clone to keep it going.

I looked up their ancestry. It's quite extensive on the Cannatonic side, with some pretty potent ancestors. The Yummy side is mostly Haze and G13. It is heavily Sativa, with sturdy stems, and needs to be supercropped to keep it within bounds.

It also averaged 1:1 on the THC/CBD ratio, so good for pain relief. That will be just for me.

 

[SweetSue]

I decided to pop the CBD Yummy seeds that Sue sent my way. They are photos, but the breeder lists them as fems, so I will have to clone to keep it going.

I looked up their ancestry. It's quite extensive on the Cannatonic side, with some pretty potent ancestors. The Yummy side is mostly Haze and G13. It is heavily Sativa, with sturdy stems, and needs to be supercropped to keep it within bounds.

It also averaged 1:1 on the THC/CBD ratio, so good for pain relief. That will be just for me.

Because you gotta take care of you, or the show falls apart. I have CBD Mass seeds, which I believe are a 1:1 ratio. That might be a decent idea for the new year's schedule. I don't have anything at the moment completely balanced. The CBD Critical Cure is grow is 2:1 CBD dominant. I can see how a balanced ratio would be better for pain.

 

[AKgramma]

Because you gotta take care of you, or the show falls apart. I have CBD Mass seeds, which I believe are a 1:1 ratio. That might be a decent idea for the new year's schedule. I don't have anything at the moment completely balanced. The CBD Critical Cure is grow is 2:1 CBD dominant. I can see how a balanced ratio would be better for pain.

The 1:1 quote was my guesstimate average. I went to CBDCrew's site and they had the lab results for a sample of buds. The THC:CBD ranged from about 1:1 to 1:20 (the last way off on it's own. SUPERBUD!) Anyway, I THINK that is where I found the 1:20 listed.

I AM surprised that the ratios came out on the CBD side, tho, with the NYC Diesel/Queen Mother ancestry of the Cannatonic parent. The breeder had to be testing each and every hybrid as they put together this strain, and choosing those with less THC than the norm. Many Kudos to the breeders who managed to do this!

I've read that the the cannibus of old had a lot less THC than the modern hybrids we have now, since that is what the recreational users want.

Not that I know anything about this beyond a degree in Biology, which included just one course in Genetics. LOL!

But even your research brought up the fact that both compounds need to be present, even for non-psychedelic strains.

 

[AKgramma]

Of 5 planted CBD Yummy seeds, one popped today at day 3. I'm going to try and keep track of how quickly they pop and see if that has any bearing on gender later on. Each one will be ID'd with a letter of the alphabet. I suspect sprouting speed wont be a factor, but I gotta keep track of something that requires thought. LOL.

 

[AKgramma]

Second CBD Yummy popped late last night. No sign of the other three. Day 4 and waiting.

The buds from the AK47 x Durban poison are slow to dry because they are so dense. Going to move them to an open flat container to nudge them closer to 62%.

The AK48 clones that I put under flower 21 days ago are definitely less sturdy than the mother was. I had to prop a couple of them up, due to thin stems. Their flowers are still small, so I expect they are going to need some serious support when the buds start filling out.

Both the AK48s in veg and in flower got a neem treatment yesterday, cause I spotted some suspicious webs in the lower nodes. In my house, it's easy to dismiss them for cat hair and dust.